I'm just getting started in wedding videography. I'm curious about how much time you guys spend on all the post production process. Can you give me a feel for the number of hours involved up to the point of delivering the product. Maybe break it down by ceremony, reception, etc. since there is a wide variety of packages sold to clients. I know in the begining my hours will be huge. Thanks for any feedback you can give me on this. - Jeff

delivery..
well .. mm.. capturing, reviewing, cutting then fine tuning.. refinign, filtering, got theres so much
Depending on the project.. anything between 40 to 120 hours.. depending on max duration , and other elements such as highlight clips and mucis clips etc etc

Then theres image capture, DVD and box design covers, highlgihts etc etc

when starting out.. give it 100hours to get ur head around it..
once u get that, drop it by 20hrs per project until ur up to the 40hr mark.. maybe less if your footage is shot specifically for editing (ie, not recorded for long form or recorded by someone who is recording EVERYTHING)

apart from that the only thing slowing you down is your manner in which u put your creative juices to the baord.. (ie learning editing combinations and techniques which work for you :) )

good luck with it!

Makes you wanna rethink your prices, doesn't it ??

now THAT is the truest comment i have heard by a mile.. every day i rethink my prices as demands change..

I'm an abnormally slow and meticulous editor. My average wedding productions exceeds 60 hours. I spend around 10 hours on a 3 minute highlight montage. I put about 5 hours into the DVD menu and insert designs.

Hi Jeff

Our rule of thumb is for ever hour of coverage we can expect about 10 hrs. in post production, from capture to completion (burning the DVD). So for a 6.5 hour day, we spend about 65 hours; for an 8 hours day, we spend about 80 hours, and so on. Of course if they add extras, like a photo montage, etc. there's more time involved, but that's our "average" for wedding edits.

If Peter is on target, then I am right on the money. My second video will have taken me, I anticipate, 80 hours before the DVD is designed. I have been so concerned about the time involved and I hope to cut the time down somehow in the future without affecting the quality of the product.

I wonder if so many editors started out with the idea of making the absolute best product each and every time out but reality set in and forced compromise on their part when they realized what their hourly rate truly was and that they had no life beyond editing. Geez, I don't think I have seen how blue the sky is for months. I get home from work and head to the editing suite.

I am hoping to one day get to a price point where it pays me to continue to try to do that wonderful video that involves so many hours of editing. When I attend meeting where the general consensus is that most videographers spend 30-40 hours on a video I wonder if they can crank out a quality video in that time or if there is something I am doing wrong.

I wanted to start this discussion because I was starting to realize that this wedding business probably isn't where people go to make big money on an hourly basis. I think you have to really enjoy it and have a passion for the creative side of it. I know the hours won't keep me from pursuing this work. So far I really enjoy it. I'm sure there are other more cookie-cutter events that can produce more monetary return.